Tired of your smartwatch reminding you that you haven’t hit 10,000 steps today? It’s time to dismiss the notification. Walking any distance is beneficial for health, even if you don’t reach this popular (but actually, pretty arbitrary) threshold.

However, studies haven’t looked into whether taking walks in shorter or longer bursts impacts heart health—until now.

A new study published in confirms that it’s not just the steps that count: the length of your daily walks matters, too—and hitting 15 minutes at a time may come with significant cardiovascular and longevity benefits.

The Longer the Walk, the Better the Health Outcomes

This study used the popular health database, the UK Biobank, to draw parallels between walking behavior and risk of death and cardiovascular disease.

An international research team analyzed data from 33,560 adults. Participants averaged 62 years old at the start of the study, and took fewer than 8,000 steps a day. Beginning in 2013, they were instructed to wear a walking sensor for seven days. About a decade later, they underwent follow-up testing so researchers could assess their health.

Researchers used this data to split the participants into four groups based on the typical duration of their walks taken during the day:

• Group 1: walked in spurts shorter than 5 minutes
• Group 2: walked in spurts lasting between 5 and 10 minutes
• Group 3: walked in spurts lasting between 10 and 15 minutes
• Group 4: walked for periods of 15 minutes or longer

They found that the longer participants walked at a time (at least during the days when they wore a monitor), the less likely they were to have died or developed cardiovascular disease by their follow-up.

Better Heart Health

Those who walked for less than five minutes at a time had a 13.03 percent chance of having been diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease at follow-up. Those who walked for 15 minutes or longer had just a 4.39 percent?chance.

Extended Longevity

Those who walked for less than five minutes at a time had a 4.36 percent mortality rate (excluding accidents, falls, and other causes of death that were not related to physical activity) at follow-up.

Those who walked for 15 minutes or longer had a 0.80 percent death rate. Those who walked for 10 to 15 minutes at a time had a similarly low rate of 0.84 percent.

These results remained consistent even after researchers adjusted for certain health variables, leading them to conclude that incorporating longer walks into your day, each lasting at least 10 to 15 minutes, may have significant benefits in the long run.

Tips for Walking Longer

“The key takeaway from this study is clear: the longer we walk at one time, the better,” says Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist.

Sabgir, who was not involved in this study, notes that these findings do have some limitations and could be strengthened with future research: “It would be beneficial to conduct randomized controlled trials—which would minimize bias as this study was observational —include more diverse populations, examine the intensity (pace) of walking, and investigate different age groups,” he says.

In addition to your existing strength or endurance workouts, try aiming for one or two longer walks a day to put these findings into motion. Through his personal practice, Sabgir has seen that people tend to walk longer when they’re walking with friends or family, listening to an audiobook or podcast, intentionally choosing a longer route, or walking outside in nature.

If you’re feeling extra energized, try upping the intensity of your bursts for a walk you can feel great about—regardless of step count.

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A few years ago, in 2020, during the pandemic, I started exercising in the only space I had: my living room. No gyms. No studios. Just a yoga mat and free YouTube workouts.

Over the course of a year, I lost 100 pounds—weight I’d carried most of my life. The change is the result of a gradual layering of habits—first a high-protein diet, then online workouts, followed by walking and running, and eventually intermittent fasting. But the real transformation wasn’t just physical. Somewhere along the way, I built something harder to measure: a healing relationship with movement. For the first time, exercise wasn’t about shrinking. I was expanding into myself.

Eventually, I took that newfound confidence outside. I dreamed of being one of those amateur runners crossing the Boston Marathon finish line while the city collectively thawed from another long, gray winter. There was just one problem: I hated running. The poignant burn of shin splints. The sharp gasps for air. The way my lungs felt like they were being folded into origami. It was clear that no matter how badly I wanted to become a runner, my body wasn’t on board.

But walking? Walking was having a cultural moment—digital creator was actively promoting her now-famous —and I was more than ready to hop on that bandwagon. I bought ankle weights, mapped out a 2.5-mile loop, and walked every day.

I used to think of walking as a consolation prize—the thing you did when you couldn’t run. I couldn’t imagine going from an 8:10 pace to genuinely enjoying what felt like a 24-minute mile—the kind of slow movement where my Apple Watch buzzes to ask me if I’ve stopped moving.

But here’s what no one tells you. Ten thousand steps didn’t come from science. It came from a pedometer ad.

Fast forward to May of this year, and a new walking trend has captured our attention: Japanese walking. In a , fitness coach Eugene Teo explains this method of interval-style walking, which involves alternating between walking fast for three minutes and walking slow for three minutes, for five sets in half an hour. The goal? Metabolic efficiency.

I used to believe walking only counted if I hit 10,000 steps a day. But over the past few years, as walking has shifted from a cooldown to the centerpiece of the wellness conversation, I’ve realized that isn’t true.

10,000 Steps a Day—the Rule We Didn’t Question

Before I ever mapped out my walking loop, I thought 10,000 steps was a rule. Not a suggestion.

It lived everywhere: embedded in my fitness tracker, baked into my phone’s health app, echoed in friends’ attempts to “close their rings.” It felt like the adult version of eating your vegetables. You just did it.

But here’s what no one tells you. Ten thousand steps didn’t come from science. It came from a pedometer ad.

In mid-1960s Japan, amid a ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, exercise physiologist Yoshiro Hatano estimated that doubling the average person’s daily steps—from about 4,000 to 10,000—“” There were no clinical trials. No test subjects. Just back-of-the-envelope energy math.

Around the same time, , the company known for its delicious soy sauces, released a pedometer called the manpo-kei (万歩計)—which literally translates to “10,000 steps meter.” The number wasn’t precise. But it was motivational, and so it stuck.

In the 2015 book Health Trackers: How Technology Is Helping Us Monitor and Improve Our Health, technology journalist Richard MacManus describes how Japanese companies, such as Coca-Cola Japan and the green tea brand Ito En,?distributed pedometers as part of large-scale marketing campaigns. These giveaways weren’t just promotions; they reinforced 10,000 steps per day as a public health guideline, embedding it into daily routines and branding it as common sense. What began as a marketing device was quietly becoming a cultural standard.

That foundation set the stage for one of Silicon Valley’s most iconic inventions—the FitBit. When Fitbit launched in 2009, it put 10,000 steps as the default daily goal—not because medical science required it, but because decades of repetition had already made it feel official. Fitbit’s own Help Center confirms: “The is 10,000 steps.”

A leisurely 10,000-step stroll might do less for your heart than 4,000 brisk ones—but your app rewards both the same.

Other wearables—like those from Apple, Garmin, and Samsung—gave steps prominent placement, even when their dashboards focused more on metrics like calories burned or active minutes. By then, steps had become the clearest, most shareable proof of progress.

The Quiet Resistance Embedded in Japanese Walking

The 10,000-step rule didn’t begin as a mandate; it started as a story—a round number, wrapped in optimism. Like most stories, it’s worth asking, What happens when you stop believing it?

That question is what led me to try Japanese Interval Walking.

At first glance, it appears to be just another niche trend. But the more I read, the more it felt like quiet resistance—a method grounded in rhythm, not accumulation—a counterpoint to Western fitness culture.

The Benefits of Japanese Walking, According to Science

In 2007, exercise physiologist Dr. Hiroshi Nose and his team at Shinshu University in Japan developed Interval Walking Training (IWT), a deceptively simple yet highly effective protocol specifically designed for aging populations. Walk fast, then slow, three minutes each, five times per walking session, at least four days each week. No wearables. No tracking apps required.

In a involving 246 older adults, IWT outperformed moderate-intensity continuous walking and sedentary control groups. Participants in the IWT group experienced a ten percent increase in peak aerobic capacity (VO? max), as well as a 13- and 17-percent increase in quadriceps and hamstring strength, respectively. A reduction in systolic blood pressure was another benefit.

associate IWT with significant gains in fitness, muscle strength, and glycemic stability in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Japanese Walking Focuses on Effort, Not Step Count

What surprises me most is how differently IWT frames the idea of progress. It’s not about pushing harder, going longer, or obsessing over streaks. Instead, IWT asks for attention, not intensity; presence, not performance. You don’t need to post your workout stats or chase medals. You just need to show up, breathe a little harder, and let your body remember how to adapt.

It’s not about what you can post—but how you feel when you’re done.

That philosophy sits in sharp contrast to step-count culture, where success is visible, measurable, and shareable, where the end goal is often less about how your body feels and more about whether your tracker vibrates in approval.

Of course, IWT isn’t a magic bullet. The Shinshu University training method focused on a fairly specific group—healthy, older Japanese adults—which makes it harder to say how the protocol translates across more diverse populations.

But here’s the encouraging part, per the Shinsu study: even when participants didn’t hit every target, they still saw meaningful gains in blood pressure, aerobic capacity, and strength. In other words, you don’t have to be perfect for IWT to work—you just have to show up often enough.

In a culture that equates health with hustle, that quiet efficiency is the most radical act of all.

But structure isn’t the only way intention can take shape. While some walks are designed for blood pressure management, others are curated for presence and joy. If IWT is a quiet rebellion against numbers, the Hot Girl Walk is a bold reimagination—and both challenge what progress is supposed to look like.

How Many Steps Should You Walk Every Day?

Because walking stopped being something you did and evolved into something you tracked, shared, and proved, step count signaled effort, discipline, even virtue.

And yet, the number was never required. It turns out that you don’t need 10,000 steps to be healthy. Not even close, in some cases.

A 2020 study in found that for older women, health benefits began to appear around 4,400 steps and plateaued at 7,500 steps. A found that 6,000 to 8,000 steps were adequate for most older adults, with younger adults typically plateauing closer to the 10,000-step count. A showed even 3,000 daily steps offered some protection against early mortality and heart disease.

So why does the 10,000-step rule endure? Because it feels complete.

Behavioral psychologists refer to this phenomenon as the “round number effect”—our instinctive attraction to clean, whole figures. Buzzes, badges, and streaks turned it into more than a goal. It became proof of doing wellness right.

But when the number becomes the focus, quality is often lost. A leisurely 10,000-step stroll might do less for your heart than 4,000 brisk ones—but your app rewards both the same.

The more I walked, the more I realized the act itself is simple—but the meaning we attach to it rarely is.

For some, walking offers structure. A measured, repeatable ritual. For others, it’s a mood, an aesthetic, a way to step into confidence. And for many, it’s just a number—a goal preloaded into a wristband, quietly urging us to try harder. Each of these approaches reflects not just a style of movement, but a worldview. A belief about what counts. What’s worth tracking? What progress looks like.

These paths don’t compete so much as coexist. But they do ask different things of us. Some ask for precision. Others, presence. Others still, proof.

For me, the meaning of walking didn’t arrive all at once. It unfolded slowly—on cold mornings, on sidewalks slick with slush, through half-smiles exchanged with strangers I’d never know by name. In moments when no one was watching, and I wasn’t performing.

What started for me as a 2.5-mile loop with ankle weights and a podcast became a daily invitation: to listen to my body. To loosen my grip on old goals. To move for the sake of moving, not for the data I could collect or the image I could project.

That shift didn’t erase ambition or discipline—it redefined them. It reminded me that movement doesn’t have to equate to an arbitrary round number to be meaningful. It doesn’t need to be validated by a graph or broadcast in an Instagram caption.

Sometimes, the most radical thing you can do is move without trying to make it count.

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Research is increasingly showing that walking——offers a staggering array of health benefits. But what makes us walk more or less? According to a in the scientific journal Nature, where we live plays an enormous role.

The study, which analyzed smartphone data from over two million people living in 1,600 cities and towns across the United States, suggests that not only do healthy, active people choose to live in walkable cities, but that simply living in a walkable city can actually encourage someone to start walking more.

“Eight years ago, we published a study using smartphone data to understand people’s activity globally,” behavioral scientist Tim Althoff, a University of Washington professor and co-author of the study, . Althoff explained , published in 2017, which looked at 111 different countries, was intended to “measure physical activity at the global scale.”

Walkability is way that urban planners measure a city’s amenities for pedestrians: sidewalks, crosswalks, footpaths, walking flyovers, and other ways for people to move about on foot.

The study did find major discrepancies in physical activity between various countries and cities, but it still left big questions unanswered. Chiefly, “is it the city that makes people walk more, or do active people just choose to live there?”

To answer this nagging question, Althoff and his colleagues, which also included researchers from Stanford University and tech firm NVIDIA, examined the lifestyle changes made by people moving from more walkable cities to less walkable ones, and vice versa. They looked at smartphone data from a total of 2,112,288 people, measuring their physical activity both before and after 7,447 relocations between 1,609 different cities in the U.S.

The result? If you move to a city with robust pedestrian infrastructure—New York City, for example—you’ll probably start walking more, and the same is true in reverse. “People who moved from a less walkable city to a more walkable one increased their walking by ~1,100 steps a day, on average,” Althoff explained, adding that the effect goes both ways. “People moving to NYC from less walkable places gained ~1,400 steps. People who moved away from NYC lost ~1,400 steps.”

While at first glance, the study results might be explained simply by the fact that more active people are more likely to choose to move to more walkable cities, the researchers noticed that people who moved between two different cities with similar levels of walkability had no measurable change in walking habits. This suggests that not just personal preferences, but the “built environment” (i.e. the layout and planning of a city), plays a considerable role in the walking habits of a given individual.

The research shows that these lifestyle changes “hold across different genders, ages and body mass index values,” and all were sustained over at least three months. The new walking was also mostly “moderate-to-vigorous,” which is a good thing, because that’s the level of aerobic exercise to prevent disease and improve longevity. Althoff said that “moving to a much more walkable city nearly doubled the chances that a person would meet the national guidelines for physical activity,” (150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week).

At the policy level, the big finding, said Althoff, is that “city planning is a powerful public health tool” and investment in sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian signals, parks and plazas, isn’t just a way to make a city more appealing to those who already live an active lifestyle, but a way to encourage existing inhabitants to live a more active one, too. Many of us don’t have the financial means to pick up and move to a more walkable city, of course, but Althoff and his colleagues’ findings make a strong case for advocating for more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure in your own city or town.

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Craig Mod may think in binary code, but he does so from the perspective of a visual artist. Mod is…well, a lot of things. He’s a writer, a photographer, and a digital media designer. And he’s likely influenced your life, even if you have never heard his name. Craig worked on massive digital platforms, like Medium and Flipboard, and has spent two decades as a tech start up consultant. But to make sure he can unplug from his computer-centric work, Craig walks. As in many, many, many kilometers-long multi-day walks, mostly on the ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross his adopted home of Japan. Craig has turned these walks into several fascinating books. In his most recent book, Things Become Other Things, Craig took on a 300-mile trek through Japan’s ancient Kumano Kodō, which transformed into a meditation on his life, the forces that shape us all, and the power of slowly moving through nature in an increasingly distracting digital world.

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A smoking silver thurible swooped through the gothic arches overhead, richly scented incense pouring from its sides. Eight priests in heavy robes acted as the counterweight, controlling a rope as thick as my forearm. I shuddered to think what might happen if the cord snapped, spilling 175 pounds of heated metal and 90 pounds of coal onto the crowd below

The hundred-year-old ritual taking place before me and the month-long walk I had taken to get there seemed like something out of a George R.R. Martin book. But this was the real-life ending to my trip down the Camino de Santiago, a Catholic pilgrimage that was Medieval Europe’s answer to the Appalachian Trail.

Today, believers make up a small proportion of people walking the Camino de Santiago. The vast majority of pilgrims are on their own recreational or spiritual quests. For me, a month-long hike sounded like an amazing challenge but an achievable one, too.

Being away from friends and family, work commitments, and an Internet connection gave me the time I needed to decompress and follow my thoughts to wherever they wanted to go; there’s a kind of spirituality in that, too. Like any other long-distance walk, there’s a physical and mental commitment to the task, a simple rhythm of daily needs to meet.

This modern take on pilgrimage is only getting more popular: The number of people walking the Camino Francés has jumped from under 10,000 in 1992 to over 190,000 in 2012. In 2023, roughly 442,000 people made the trek. Ready to join them? Start with our guide.

A Brief History of the Camino de Santiago

The focal point and namesake of the Camino de Santiago is the city of Santiago de Compostela, located in Spain’s far northwest. The city, where legend has it that the martyr St. James is buried, became a rallying point for Europeans fighting the Moors in the eighth century, after a shepherd claimed to have seen a bright light in the skies above.

During the Middle Ages, the Camino was responsible for the largest movement of people in Europe: millions of people, both rich and poor, made their way to Santiago de Compostela, where the pilgrim mass and certificate of pilgrimage ensured they would spend less time in purgatory. The route was nearly lost to history until the past couple of decades, when a growing body of literature around the Camino sparked a resurgence of interest in it from abroad.

When most people talk about “the Camino”, they’re . Also known as the Camino Francés (the French Way), this route starts at St. Jean Pied-du-Port in France, crosses the Pyrenees, and continues westwards across Spain about 60 miles south of the coast. It passes through Pamplona, Burgos, Leon, and a host of smaller towns and villages and is about 500 miles long, depending on how many detours you take.

While the walk itself is the main attraction today, that wasn’t always the case. In the Middle Ages, the whole idea was to arrive in the holy city of Santiago de Compostela, and you started at your own front door; there was no official “starting point”. Because it was safer for people to walk together, common routes were established, and many of the paths through other European countries converged in St. Jean.

But what if you lived in England? Or Portugal? Or Madrid? Traveling to France to start your pilgrimage there wouldn’t make sense. So many smaller routes were established by pilgrims making their way from their homes and are named accordingly: The Camino Portugués travels northwards through Portugal, while the Camino Inglés catered to English pilgrims who arrived on the north coast by boat. Today, as the French Route draws more and more tourists, many walkers are starting to rediscover these secondary paths.

How to Prepare to walk the Camino de Santiago

There are a plethora of guidebooks and online resources to help you plan your pilgrimage, but I’m of the opinion that you should do the minimum amount of planning possible. If there’s any hike that’s worth improvising, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela is it.

That said, it’s a good idea to bring a basic route guidebook, such as the ones . Have this posted to you before you start and use it to figure out what kind of pace you’ll have to set and what sights you want to see, based on the length of your trip.

Once you’re on the way, you’ll find this plan changes. You’ll meet some people you want to walk with for a few days; you’ll want to push yourself to do another few miles; you’ll decide it’s a perfect time to sit by the river and think about life. Unlike a backcountry hike, there’s enough infrastructure around that you don’t need to have every detail perfectly laid out.

There’s very little technical walking on the main Camino routes—you’ll mostly be on well-maintained tracks or pavement—so you don’t need much backpacking experience. If you don’t hike much, get out and around your neighborhood for an hour each day, and take care to break in your shoes beforehand. If you don’t do a lot of walking, get out and about around your neighborhood for an hour or two each day. I always said my training for the Camino was the first week of the Camino: by the time you’ve pushed through those first five days, things become a lot easier.

The clothing and technical gear you’ll need for the Camino depends on what season you’re hiking in, but err on the lighter side. Your fully-packed bag, with a bit of food and a full water bottle, should weigh no more than 15 percent of your body weight, with a goal of 10 percent. For my 155-pound frame, I aimed for 22 pounds or less. Start with this list:

• A 30-40 liter backpack.
• Your credential, passport or valid ID, journal, and a pen in a waterproof bag. Bring a journal so you can add stamps and jot down notes.
• A water bottle of some kind. I like a two-liter Platypus with cap, which you can use on those days where it’s a long way between water stops.
• Toiletries. No make-up, but plenty of sunscreen and soap suitable for hand-washing clothes. If you can endure it, many men and women avoid shaving on the Camino to eliminate the weight of that gear.
• A small first-aid kit, including painkillers, antiseptic cream, bandages, blister plasters and a sterile needle to drain blisters. Pharmacies are easy to find, so you don’t need medical supplies for the whole way unless you rely on a particular prescription.
• Two t-shirts, two pairs of zip-off trousers, and three pairs of underpants and socks. Wash at your stops and dry overnight.
• Hiking layers—whatever you need to stay warm and dry. Sometimes you might be walking over plains in 40-degree heat; a week later snow will start falling in the mountains. I recommend merino wool thermal underwear (top and bottom), a fleece top for warmth, a wind- and water-proof outer jacket and pants, and a pack cover to protect your things from the rain.
• I favor light, comfortable walking shoes or hiking sandals over boots for most of the Caminos, with the possible exception of the Primitivo. I always bring along a pair of flip-flops to allow my feet to breathe and dry after walking.
• As few electronics as you can bear. Bring a camera and a phone, but leave the laptops and iPads at home.
• Basic eating utensils. Most refugios and albergues have kitchens, but I’d recommend carrying a spork, sharp knife, lightweight plate, bowl and cup. It’s not uncommon to have someone spontaneously cook a communal meal, or pilgrims to all chip in and make something together.

Camino de Santiago Routes

The network of Caminos crosses Europe, and you can follow a Way from Finland or Turkey. The possibilities are beyond the scope of this article, but these are the main routes.

Camino Francés (the French Way)

The Camino Francés is the most popular option for a reason: The varied scenery and good infrastructure mean that it’s an enjoyable walk. Most of the routes from other parts of Europe converge in St. Jean Pied-du-Port, which is where the Camino Francés officially starts.

Book Flights to St. Jean Pied-du-Port

Camino del Norte (the Northern Way)

Hugging the northern coast of Spain, this route starts in Irún on the border with France and travels west through Bilbao, Santander, and Oviedo. The 510 miles of pathway will take about 35 days to complete, and though the distances between towns are reasonable, the sparse accommodations mean that you have to stick to a fairly rigid itinerary.

Camino Portugués (the Portuguese Way)

In contrast with many of the other routes, the Camino Portugués is relatively flat, without too many hills. It starts in Lisbon, passes through Porto and Pontevedra on its way north through Portugal, and is approximately 380 miles long. The infrastructure is reasonable, but much of the route takes you alongside motorways.

Via de la Plata

The “plata” in the Via de la Plata’s name comes from a corruption of an Arabic word that means “wide surfaced road.” In this sense, it’s well named, as most of the route follows an old Roman road north from Seville; if you’re interested in Roman history, this is the route for you. At 620 miles, it’s the longest route through Spain, and it passes through Merida, Cáceres, Salamanca, Zamora, and other cities.

Camino Inglés (the English Way)

English pilgrims arriving by boat from Britain started their walk at either La Coru?a or Ferrol, and the English Way is a Y-shaped route that can be started in either of these cities. The 75km from La Coru?a can be walked in three days, though you won’t earn a Compostela as it’s under 62 miles. From Ferrol, the 70-mile walk will take five days.

Camino Primitivo (the Original Route)

Oveido isn’t on the Camino Francés, but many pilgrims detour there to visit the city’s cathedral. The Camino Primitivo is the most direct route from Oviedo to Santiago (passing through Lugo), and it rejoins the Camino Francés about 40 miles from Santiago. The walk is about 180 miles long and is quite challenging, as it includes a fair amount of hill climbing, and the weather can be very erratic.

Camino de Finisterre (the Finisterre Way)

Instead of finishing their walk in Santiago, many pilgrims continue on to one of the westernmost points in Europe: Finisterre, whose name literally translates to “end of the world.” The route from Santiago to Finisterre adds 55 miles and is best walked in five stages, with an optional extra 18-mile walk to Muxia afterward. Organizations in Finisterre and Muxia both offer Compostelas to those who complete these routes.

Spanish Terms to Know

Everyone who walks the Camino should get familiar with the following Spanish terms:

A compostela is the “pilgrim certificate” you get at the end of the walk if you’ve completed 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) or more on foot. If you are not Catholic but did the Camino for ‘spiritual reasons, you can still get a Compostela. If you say your goals were non-spiritual, you get a rather plain certificate of completion.

Albergues and refugios are the pilgrim’s accommodation stops. Run by churches, town councils, non-profit organizations, and private for-profit groups, they provide cheap beds in dorm rooms, mattresses in church bell towers, or hotel-like rooms with prices starting at five euros a night.

A credential is the ‘pilgrim passport’ issued by various Camino-friendly organizations. Each albergue or refugio has its own stamp, which you’ll receive each night. You need a credential to stay in pilgrim accommodations and a complete record of stamps to get your Compostela. Arrange to have one posted to you in advance if you’re not starting at a popular stepping-off point. Accommodations are first come, first served, with preference given first to walkers, then horse-riders, then cyclists.

Craig Martin has been traveling full-time since February 2006 and has walked three Caminos in that time: the Camino Francés, the Via de la Plata, and the Camino Inglés. A Kiwi, he loves wine and is addicted to the new. Find more of his travels on his or on X.

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The clock had not yet struck 2 p.m. in Harlem, and my daily step count was higher than it’d been in months. My eyelids were heavy, my hips were creaking in protest, and my legs were no longer useful. And there were still ten?miles to go.

Just a few hours ago, I was giddy at the prospect of walking the entire 32-mile perimeter of Manhattan in one day via route. (Shorewalkers, a local non-profit, hosts the Saunter on the first Saturday of May each year to raise money for promoting and preserving the city’s waterfront.)

Though I’d missed the registration deadline, the opportunity to spend the entire day outside exploring new parts of my city was too tempting to pass up. So, I decided to follow the route on my own schedule and rope a friend into doing it with me. We chose a mutually convenient place to meet up—a Starbucks near the southern tip of the island—and took our first steps into the dewy spring morning.

We were both feeling confident about our fitness levels heading into the walkabout. My friend was fresh off thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, and I’d been running about 30 miles a week in preparation for the New York City Marathon in the fall. Equipped with coffee and a can-do attitude, I figured, I run all the time—how hard can a long walk be?

Cue the narrator of my life: Harder than she thinks.

What It’s Like to Walk the Perimeter of Manhattan in a Day

I (perhaps naively) let my walking buddy set the pace for the morning, and we started our journey up the West Side Highway walking path at roughly 18 minutes per mile. It was fast enough to feel challenging, and my hip flexors and glutes started to fire up within the first hour.

When I connected with run coach after my walk, she wasn’t surprised to hear about this early burn. “Walking works generally the same muscle groups as running,” Dorset, a 21-time marathoner and the first woman from Trinidad to complete all six major world marathons, tells me. When you walk, she explains, “you’re priming those muscles to get ready for longer distances and added speed.”

Rather than dwelling on the pain or the number of miles still to go, I tried to set my sights on our surroundings. I noticed features of the greenway I’d usually whiz right by: the daffodils reaching towards the sun, the trumpet-shaped bluebells in a fleeting symphony, the Eastern Redbud trees reawakening after a long winter. The more I focused my attention outward, the less anxiety I carried within.

As I later learned from , the assistant professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, this wasn’t a coincidence. Jimenez explains that walks in parks (even urban ones) have been shown to have a on heart rate, sympathetic nerve activity, and other stress biomarkers. She is currently researching whether certain types of landscaping (shrubs, flowers, trees, etc.) seem to be more restorative than others. But for now, it’s safe to say that reveling in any green environment reduces stress levels.

Equipped with coffee and a can-do attitude, I figured, I run all the time—how hard can a long walk be?

And revel I did. Buoyed by a sampling of NYC’s and 1,300 native plant species, I made it past the Little Red Lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge, through the shelter of the nearly 100-year-old Inspiration Point rest stop, and between the canopy of Inwood Hill Park to reach the tippy top of Manhattan—all in about four hours.

Next, it was over to Harlem, where my legs really started to speak to me with some level of profanity. Again, I focused on putting one foot in front of the other and tuning into the sights of the neighborhood. The cultural melting pot was bursting with street vendors, musicians, and seemingly all the energy in the world. I greedily soaked it up.

By the time my walking buddy and I made our way back downtown via the East River path, the end of the trek was in sight, and the worst of the self-doubt had passed. A few friends joined to keep us company, and we spent the afternoon chatting, slowing our pace, and sneaking inland for a beer break or two.

Somewhere along the way, I realized the many facets of longer-distance walking. It can be both challenging and restorative, social and solitary. Clearly, the act was more versatile than I’d given it credit for. I wondered how it might help me have a more joyful, injury-free, and productive training cycle for the NYC marathon.

By 9 p.m., we had circled back to the unassuming Starbucks from which we started.

After 12 hours, 42 minutes, and 32.89 miles, our ultra-distance urban hike was complete. That night, I waddled home sore, exhausted, and eager to walk my way to a more successful marathon.

How Walking Can Make You a Better Runner

I figured that walking 30-plus miles in a day wasn’t something I could (or should) keep up with during the height of marathon season. But what distance would complement my training? And how would I know when to walk and when to run?

I brought these questions to Dorset, who affirmed that longer walks are a valuable training and recovery tool for runners—and not just for the obvious reasons.

Beyond activating your muscles and improving , walking holds a distinctly mental appeal. As any runner knows, there are days when running is the last thing you want to do. When those happen, walking can be a more achievable way to get miles in and stay accountable to your goals.

“For whatever reason, going on your run can feel too intimidating sometimes,” Dorset says, noting that she often feels this way during particularly long or difficult workweeks. “But people are more used to walking, especially in cities like New York. It’s not as overwhelming.”

While walking can feel easier and more achievable than running—especially during periods of heightened stress—it’s still valuable exercise. “It will still be physical motion, and it will still be time on your feet,” Dorset says.

Active recovery techniques like walking can also help and (DOMS) following a tough workout. Plus, it may help prevent injuries as you build up mileage.

“Sometimes if you do a long run one day and sit a lot the next day, things really tighten up,” Dorset says. “If you go for a nice walk instead, that helps get things loose again. You’re going to have a lower chance of incurring injury if your muscles are less tight and stiff.”

In practice, this may look like swapping a 40-minute recovery run with a walk that takes roughly double the time (80 minutes). While individual needs vary, Dorset advises that most people shouldn’t walk for more than three-and-a-half hours at a time during training—a guideline similar to the limit for running before a marathon.

Pro Tips for Your Next Long Walk

If you’re looking to incorporate more long walks into your routine, Dorset has some additional tips:

• Warm up your feet and ankles beforehand: try rotating your ankles to make circles and/or the letters of the alphabet to ward off stiffness once you get moving.
• Bring plenty of fuel: this means water! Plus, Dorset likes to use walks as low-stakes opportunities to test out new hydration and energy gels she may use during races.
• Pack light: avoid bags or backpacks that will throw off your mechanics.
• Invest in a comfortable pair of sneakers: my feet were miraculously blister-free after 62,804 steps around Manhattan in my cushy .
• Stay engaged: keep your arms pumping and your core online during training walks. Seek out hills, steps, or bridges to add some more intensity.

Slowing Down to Speed Up

During previous training cycles, I used recovery days to go on short runs, lift weights, or hop on a bike. This go-round, I prioritized walking, seeking out paths that brought me to new neighborhoods, hilly landscapes, and good friends. When I couldn’t decide where to go, I’d look at a map and choose a green space to visit, designing my route around calming canopies.

After 12 hours, 42 minutes, and 32.89 miles, our ultra-distance urban hike was complete.

I’m pleased to report that I made it through training injury-free and finished the NYC Marathon with a 19-minute personal record. While I can’t say that this all comes down to my walking routine, I do think it helped me better manage the physical and mental strain of training.

Looking back, I see that my circumnavigating Manhattan left me with a valuable gift that went well beyond getting the fodder for a great story to tell anyone who would listen. The experience taught me that slowing down doesn’t mean falling behind.

“There is no shame in walking,” says Dorset. “And using walking as a tool doesn’t make you any less of a runner.”

The post How a 32-Mile Walk Around Manhattan Made Me a Better Runner appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

I’ve tackled sections of the Pacific Crest Trail—backpacking, day hiking, and trail running—but to think of taking months off to complete all 2,650 miles of this trail, which climbs mountain passes and traverses remote California, Oregon, and Washington, feels overwhelming. A long-distance walk, on the other hand, feels more manageable, like something any of us could pull off, given some time. They mostly involve days and weeks rather than many months, and are at more consistent elevations.

I’m not talking about a mountainous thru-hike where you plan out food caches and sleep on the ground. I’m talking about a meandering or purposeful walk that goes on for days, weeks, or maybe months. A big commitment, yes. A physical feat for sure. A mental and emotional pilgrimage of sorts. But not so strenuous that most people couldn’t do it, building up their mileage.

These long walks, on byways and moderate terrain, are more like scenic tours of spectacular landscapes, or adventurous journeys through cities and forests. They are not so much to be completed as experienced.

And I think they’re the most beautiful in the world.

1. Best Urban Trail

Empire State Trail, New York

It took four years to link up and complete the entire , one of the longest multi-sport pathways in the United States, officially finished in late 2020. The route runs 750 miles across the state of New York, from New York City north to the Canadian border and from Albany west to Buffalo. Three quarters of the trail is on off-road pathways. You can walk on converted rail trails through the Hudson River Valley, stroll beside the historic Erie Canal, or move through wetlands and fields along Adirondack Park and Lake Champlain. Eventually the trail will include a 200-mile greenway across Long Island; construction of the first 25 miles of that section begins this year.

Pick a section of this largely urban route, which is also popular with bicyclists, and walk it one direction, then hop on a train back to where you started—Amtrak stations are located in 20 towns and cities along the way. Find community with others traveling the trail or seek tips on good trailside lodging or camping from .

Don’t Miss:? ?More than 200 craft breweries dot the Empire State Trail, in an aggregate known as the . Get a brewery passport and pick up stamps at the places along the way to earn rewards like a T-shirt or cooler bag. In the Hudson Valley, spend a night at (from $195), which has cabins, canvas tents, and a cedar sauna just a short walk from the trail.

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2. Best Pilgrimage

El Camino de Santiago, Spain

Each year, over 300,000 people embark upon sections of this legendary pilgrimage, on a network of trails dating back to pre-medieval times and roadways that vary from cobbled to paved. The most popular route is the Camino Frances, a 500-mile pathway that starts in St. Jean Pied de Port, France, and takes travelers about four to five weeks to walk, passing through the Pyrenees mountains and La Rioja wine region, La Meseta arid range, and through eucalyptus forests into Galicia and Santiago itself. The Camino Portugues, heading up the northern coast of Portugal is another top choice, stretching between 140 and 380 miles depending on your starting point, and crossing through fishing villages such as the UNESCO Heritage Listed cities of Lisbon and Porto. No matter which route you choose, all roads?on the Camino lead to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, where the remains of the Apostle Saint James the Great are allegedly buried.

You can walk the Camino year-round—the most popular season is mid-summer—but aim for spring or fall for mild temperatures and fewer crowds, and be aware that many lodges and albergues close in winter ). offers guided walks on the Camino through Portugal and Spain lasting from a week up to 22 days (from $1,436), or, if you’d rather go on your own, has self-guided options (from $718).

Don’t Miss: Once you reach Santiago de Compostela, head to the Pilgrim’s Office for your official stamp of completion, having received a pilgrim’s passport from your entry point to be stamped along the way. Bagpipes will be playing nearby as you enter the gates of the holy Santiago de Compostela.?The cathedral has a Pilgrim’s Mass at noon and 7:30 p.m. daily; go early if you want a seat. On , await the ancient ritual of the swinging brass Botafumeiro, or cauldron, which is filled with incense and coal and so heavy eight men are required to move it.

3. Best Waterfront Route

Stockholm Archipelago Trail, Sweden

Opening in October 2023, the 167-mile connects new and existing pathways across 20 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago, the largest archipelago in Sweden and home to over 30,000 islands. To walk the whole thing, you’ll need to use a series of public ferries and private boat taxis. You can also pick a section and just walk a few islands at a time; each has an average of about nine miles of trails. You’ll travel along gravel roads, forest paths, and beaches, and through remote fishing and farming communities.

Along the way, camp or stay in hotels or B&Bs. offers a seven-day, self-guided journey on the trail (from $1,095) in spring, summer, or fall that includes lodging in locally owned hotels, luggage transfer, and daily routes that max out at about nine miles.

Don’t Miss: On the island of Tranholmen, a celebrated chef named David Enmark opens up his home to diners every Friday night—. Or visit the island of Furusund, which contains about five miles of trail and is site of a famed 19^th-century summer resort, now a 16-room boutique hotel: the (rooms from $121), which welcomes guests who arrive by boat or on foot.

4. Best for History Buffs

Lycian Way, Turkey

Traversing the rocky Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey, the 472-mile Lycian Way winds through the ancient maritime republic known as Lycia. Mountains rise from the turquoise sea as the route follows old roads, footpaths, and mule trails through long-gone civilizations. You’ll pass by lighthouses, beaches, historic sites like Roman amphitheaters and rock tombs, and lagoons over underwater ruins of sunken cities that can be toured by boat.

Most people take on just a section of the Lycian Way. has five- to 14-day guided tours (from $1,187) that include lodging and luggage transfer, or leads seven-day treks (from $995) with an English-speaking guide. Best to do this historical walk in spring or fall, from February to May or from September to November to avoid the high heat of summer.

Don’t Miss: 罢耻谤办别测’蝉 illuminates Lycia’s ancient capital city of Patara after dusk, making it a magical place to explore by night. Best lodging on the trail: the (from $240), built in 2005 on a hillside, has glass windows, viewing hammocks, and saunas overlooking the Aegean Sea.

See Cheap Flights to Antalya Airport

See Cheap Flights to Dalaman Airport

5. Best for Conservationists

John Muir Way, Scotland

Not to be confused with California’s more demanding John Muir Trail, the is a relatively new route (established around 10 years ago) that stretches coast to coast across Muir’s home country of Scotland. This 134-mile walk begins in the western waterfront town of Helensburgh, where quotes from the famed Scottish-American environmentalist mark a commemorative stone bench. The trek ends around 10 days later in the eastern seaside town of Dunbar, where Muir was born in 1838.

On the way, you’ll walk through the cobbled streets of the capital city of Edinburgh, along the shores of , and by the Falkirk Wheel, a rotating boat lift in central Scotland. has self-guided itineraries (from $1,827) for the entire route, including accommodations.

Don’t Miss: Stay in (from $417), a restored 16th-century castle?just off the trail 20 miles east of Edinburgh. The trail’s eastern terminus is at Muir’s birthplace, a humble three-story home in Dunbar that’s now a historic and free to visit.

See Cheap Flights to Glasgow

See Cheap Flights to Edinburgh

6. Best for Self-Reflection

Shikoku Pilgrimage, Japan

This circular walk across the Japanese island of Shikoku visits 88 temples and sacred sites where the Buddhist saint known as Kūkai is thought to have trained in the 9^th century. The entire route is about 745 miles—mostly using roads, but also on select mountain trails—and takes around six weeks to walk. Or you can choose just a section.

The traditional approach starts at the first temple, Ryōzenji, in Tokushima prefecture and proceeds clockwise until you reach the last temple, ?kuboji, in Kagawa prefecture. Many pilgrims dress in traditional attire, including a white cotton robe, scarf, and straw hat, and carrying a walking stick; they also carry pilgrims’ books, to be stamped after worshipping at each temple. leads an eight-day tour of the pilgrimage (from $2,303), where you’ll walk up to eight miles daily with an English-speaking guide, staying at guesthouses and temple lodging.

Don’t Miss: One of the hardest temples to reach is number 21, Tairyuji, or Temple of the Great Dragon. You can ride the tram to reach this mountaintop temple or hike to the site on a steep three-mile trail through limestone rocks and an ancient cedar forest. There you’ll climb a marble staircase leading into the temple gates and visit a bronze statue of Kūkai meditating.

See Cheap Flights to Tokushima Awaodori Airport

7. Best for Wildlife Spotting

Yuraygir Coastal Walk, Australia

The 42-mile point-to-point leads through the beaches and bluffs of Yuraygir National Park in New South Wales. You’ll start in the village of Angourie and follow the sign-posted track, as trails are called in Australia and New Zealand, south to the red-tinted cliffs of Red Rock. Most people take four to five days to do the whole route. Along the way, you’ll spot turtles and whales, swim in the Pacific Ocean, and walk through coastal headlands and the biodiverse Solitary Islands Marine Park.

Spend your first night on the trail camping at the , which is only accessible on foot. Or if you’d prefer sleeping in a bed, book a guided walk that includes shuttles to trailside properties like (from $234) or (from $125). leads a guided five-day walk of the trail (prices vary according to group size and season) for private groups from November to April that includes luggage delivery, boat and bus transfers, national-park fees, and accommodations. If you’d rather go it on your own, you can base out of the family-owned in Wooli, and the owners will arrange for lifts to the trail each day (from $499, including lodging and hiker shuttles).

Don’t Miss: Stop into the beachfront , about halfway through your route, for a sausage roll or pizza. Spend some time at the and estuary, a breeding site for endangered shorebirds including the pied oystercatcher and beach stone-curlew. The trail along the Station Creek estuary is lined with scribbly gum and corkwood trees, and if you’re lucky, you’ll spot an Australian crane or coastal emu.

8. Most Adventurous

Te Araroa, New Zealand

New Zealand is known for its stellar tracks, and , also called the Long Pathway, is the country’s most ambitious trail project yet. It’s a 1,900-mile journey crossing the length of New Zealand’s North and South Islands, from Cape Reinga at the north end to Bluff at the southern tip. The trail itself climbs mountain passes, crosses verdant plains, and travels through small cities and remote villages. Roughly 2,000 people walk the whole trail each year, taking between three and six months. Most hikers go north to south, starting around October, which is springtime in New Zealand. If you don’t have that kind of time, pick a section or a single island; the South Island is considered the more challenging of the two due to its more mountainous terrain.

While this video shows a Te Araroa thru-hike, some choose a section or decide to hike either the North Island or South Island. The South Island is more remote and considered more difficult, the North Island route longer but with more road walking. (Video: 国产吃瓜黑料 TV) ?

Before you go, ($34) to receive the latest maps and a Te Araroa walker-information packet. Buy a (from $110) for access to over 70 Department of Conservation-managed backcountry huts and campsites along Te Araroa. The trail also has ?to help you plan and navigate, and the trail notes for each section give details on the route and where to stay and resupply. Or you can book a guided 12-day trip with (from $8,595) and let the outfit take care of the logistics, including hotel bookings.

Don’t Miss: On the North Island, you’ll climb the extinct volcano of Mount Pirongia and descend to the valley below, where you’ll walk by the glowworm-studded , which are worth a stop; you can see the illuminating glowworms in their grottos by boat. On the South Island, spend a night at the 12-bunk, first-come, first-served near Wanaka, which has stunning views from the porch overlooking the Motatapu Valley and a nice swimming hole in the adjacent creek.

See Cheap Flights to Gisborne (GIS) Airport

9. Best Way to Explore Indigenous Cultures

Vancouver Island Trail, Canada

Vancouver Island, British Columbia, is a rugged and densely forested place, and the 500-mile is among the most challenging routes on this list. The trail goes from the capital city of Victoria on the southern end of the island to Cape Scott on the northern tip, crossing rocky beaches and through lush rainforests and territories sacred to First Nations tribes, including the Songhees in the south and the Tlatlasikwala to the north. The trail is broken up into seven distinct sections, from paved pathways through urban areas to logging roads, hiking trails, and rail trails. Each section takes around five to 10 days to walk—or you can spend two months doing a complete thru-hike. Some sections of the trail are still being completed and not well marked, so plan on some skilled route finding or that’s better delineated. If you’re walking the trail northbound, you’ll end in , where the Cape Scott Lighthouse has been shining light for mariners since 1960.??

Don’t Miss: Book a cabin or pitch a tent at the First Nations-owned , between the northern towns of Port McNeill and Port Hardy. At the center of Vancouver Island, you’ll walk through Strathcona Provincial Park, British Columbia’s oldest park, dotted with high-alpine lakes and jagged snow-capped peaks. The , on the outskirts of the park, has eight seasonal campsites and a sauna.

See Cheap Flights to Victoria International Airport

10. Best New Trail

Camino de Costa Rica, Costa Rica

You’ll walk from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the beaches of the Pacific Ocean on the 174-mile-long , or the Costa Rican Way, which was inspired by Spain’s El Camino de Santiago. This relatively new trail—established in 2018 by the nonprofit Asociación Mar a Mar—travels through coffee plantations and rainforests, over the Continental Divide, and among tiny villages that rarely see tourists. Plan on around 16 days to hike the whole thing.

The trip starts on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, in the town of Barra de Parismina, at the base of Tortuguero National Park, known as a nesting ground for leatherback turtles. It ends in Quepos near Manuel Antonio National Park, filled with coral reefs and white-sand beaches. Stay in guesthouses, campsites, and hotels along the way. You will want to hire a guide, as much of the trail is sparsely marked. leads guided hikes ranging from eight to 16 days (from $1,675) that include meals and stays at local homes and guesthouses.

Don’t Miss: In the Orosi Valley, stay at the (from $59), which has private casitas and rooms close to the trail. In the town of Orosi, you can visit Iglesia de San José Orosi, the oldest church in Costa Rica, dating back to 1743, and its Religious Art Museum, and the .

See cheap flights to Juan Santamaría International Airport

11. Best Paved Trail

Paul Bunyan State Trail, Minnesota

Most popular with cyclists, the Paul Bunyan State Trail is still a great long walk for those who want a paved, accessible pathway. The route begins at in Brainerd and ends 115 miles later at in Bemidji, home to a famous giant statue of Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox, Babe. This is the longest continuously paved rail-trail in the country, moderate in grade throughout as it follows the former Burlington Northern Railroad, abandoned in 1983. You can camp at and Lake , or stay in hotels in the various trail towns along the way.

Don’t Miss: You’ll walk through the town of Hackensack, where every September chainsaw carvers turn hunks of wood into art in the annual Chainsaw Event. The (from $89) in the town of Nisswa has rooms and lakefront cottages steps from the trail on Lower Cullen Lake. In Pequot Lakes, stop into the trailside for a scoop of ice cream.

12. Best for Foodies

Cinque Terra, Italy

Cinque Terre or “Five Lands” refers to five coastal towns—Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore—over the the Ligurian Sea, all linked by about 75 miles of hiking trails. The most popular route is the Sentiero Azzurro, known as the Blue Trail, which is less than 10 miles and can be done in a day. You can start in Monterosso or Riomaggiore and work your way in either direction, passing through lemon groves and walking staircases directly down to the sea.

For a more expanded tour, consider five- or eight-day self-guided hiking trips in Cinque Terre, where you’ll stay in curated hotels, dine on pizza and gelato from locals’ favorite spots, and ride trains to reach new trails each day. If you’re hiking on your own, be sure to check the for updates on closures (landslides have closed sections of the trail), and grab a (from $7 a day) for access to the two paid hiking trails—from Monterosso to Vernazza and from Vernazza to Corniglia—and for use of the bus lines within Cinque Terre National Park.

Don’t Miss: Climb the stairs to Doria Castle, a medieval fortress near the village of Vernazza, to see the remains of one of the oldest surviving towers on the Liguria coast. The five-room guesthouse (from $208) in the Unesco World Heritage Site of Vernazza makes for a good midway stop on your hike.

13. Most Accessible

Cotswold Way, England

The is a quintessentially English experience, where you’ll walk from the historic market town of Chipping Campden, once a busy center for traders, to the steps of the Late Medieval church of Bath Abbey, crossing through farmlands, country parks, and beech woodlands. Stop and admire fields full of sculptures or study English Civil War sites. This well-marked 102-mile trail can be traveled in either direction, taking between seven and 10 days. has both guided and self-guided walks (from $1,154) ranging from between seven and 12 nights, where you’ll sleep in limestone cottages and guesthouses.

Don’t Miss: Climb the hill to the Broadway Tower, an 18th century tower within a 200-acre estate of parkland offering expansive views across the valley; enjoy afternoon tea at the Tower Barn Café afterward. The trail also passes by Bill Smylie’s butterfly reserve, home to some 30 species of endangered butterflies, and , a historic garden filled with seasonal flowers and a lavish mix of Classical, Gothic, and other architecture.

See cheap flights to Bristol Airport

Megan Michelson is an 国产吃瓜黑料 contributing editor and avid traveler who once lived in England for a year and went on a lot of long rambles through the countryside. She recently wrote about trips that may help you live longer and her favorite new backcountry hut in Colorado.

The post The 13 Most Magical Long Walks In the World appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

As he slathered SPF 30 onto his left calf, Ryan Johnson looked back at me and issued a warning: expect honking. I hadn’t been astride a bike in six years, but here I was on a brutally hot late-October afternoon in Arizona, an e-bike beside me, preparing for a ride. Our destination was a cycling path along the Salt River, which bisects Tempe, a city of 189,000 people about ten miles (or 60 minutes by bike) east of Phoenix. Tempe is home to Arizona State University, and it’s also the place where Johnson is currently running a grand residential experiment.

Johnson is the cofounder of Culdesac, a real estate development firm that wants to flip the script on urban living. In May 2023, he became one of the first tenants of Culdesac Tempe, a new complex taking shape on an otherwise inconspicuous tract of dirt. More than 225 people have since moved into apartments located inside a tight grouping of white stucco buildings that might be described as Santorini lite, with trendy balconies, spacious courtyards, and inviting patios shaded by trees.

Similar to those pseudo-urban enclaves situated outside America’s metropolises where residences and retail commingle, Culdesac has its own grocery store, gym, café, and mail service. There’s a bike shop on the premises, as well as a clothing consignment store, a plant emporium, an art studio, and a wellness boutique that offers IV hydration. A coworking space is located above the gym. Cocina Chiwas, the restaurant on the corner, combines craft cocktails with its own take on Mexican fare. This past May, the restaurant’s owners opened up Aruma, a coffee shop across from the restaurant.

Once construction is complete, which will take several years, will comprise 760 units total, ranging from studios to three-bedrooms and housing approximately 1,000 residents. The catch: not one of those units will come with a parking space. “We’re the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the U.S.,” says Johnson.

Virtually every residential development anywhere in this country includes parking, a requirement common in city building codes. At Culdesac, if you do own a vehicle, it’s a condition of your lease that you refrain from parking it within one block, in any direction, of the community. “We can’t tell people that they can’t own a car,” says Johnson, a tall, lanky 41-year-old. “But if people want to have a car, there are other great neighborhoods for them.”

The thought made me shudder. Where I live, in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., about an hour from the city, a car is practically a prerequisite for getting to the grocery store, the barber, the doctor’s office, the liquor store. Bike lanes are sporadic. There aren’t many bus stops within walking distance. Taking a rideshare to visit family, an hour by car at least, seems more than a little silly. While I typically work from home, when traveling I drive to the airport—in the Ford Bronco my wife and I bought last year. (And if I can be frank: I just want a vehicle.)

“I had an SUV in high school,” Johnson, who hasn’t owned a car in 13 years, told me when I met him. “I just didn’t know any better.”

The e-bike ride was my first lesson in automotive deprivation. I had flown here to try out a one-bedroom apartment at Culdesac and experience carless living for several days. There’s a light-rail stop one street over, but early Culdesac residents received a complimentary electric bike, which is Johnson’s favorite mode of transportation. (He owns about 70 of them, most stored at his company’s main office downtown.) Plus, I was told that a ride on the Salt River bike path, 100-degree weather be damned, would provide unobstructed views of the mountains framing the city’s skyline.

We just had to get there first, which involved traveling on streets lacking any bike lanes. The speed limit on our route was 25 miles an hour, but my e-bike maxed out at 20. Barely ten minutes into the journey, I heard the first honk.

Ditching cars entirely might seem crazy. (In nearby Phoenix, once described by The New York Times as an “ever-spreading tundra of concrete,” they’re more of a necessity than a luxury.) But what Culdesac is attempting to accomplish is a revision of city living, where the pedestrian, not the automobile, is more valued. To Johnson, Culdesac is an oasis in a desert of car-fueled aggravation—a walkable community that’s safe, entertaining, better for the climate, and better for the individual. And he believes that if he builds it, people will come.

The post Can Car-free Living Make You Happier? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Some of the most hardcore athletes in the world are elite race walkers. Moving faster than most people can run, their sport pushes the limits of endurance, pain tolerance, and fueling.?Canadian race walker Evan Dunfee was looking for any edge he could get when he signed up for an experimental nutrition study in Australia. He immediately became one of the world’s best. But not for the reasons everyone thought.

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Malik Martin, better known as , has carved a niche for himself in the outdoor industry as a photographer and filmmaker. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and now living in Denver, Martin filmed and appeared in the project Black Ice, a documentary about a group of Memphis rock climbers who learn to ice-climb in Montana. He’s also the subject of a short film, , about his friendship with mountaineer Conrad Anker, and the host of —a series for 国产吃瓜黑料 TV in which he interviews influential people in the outdoor world while the pair walk on treadmills in a park.

Martin began his career as a photojournalist. In 2017, at age 27, he started freelancing for the in Memphis. His photos of the raw energy and tumult during the protests that led to the dismantling of Confederate statues garnered him a promotion to a full-time position. In 2018, while photographing the opening of the nonprofit climbing gym Memphis Rox, he decided that he wanted to participate, not just document, and began climbing indoors. Soon after, a Colorado road trip that included hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park ignited his interest in the outdoors and a passion for nature photography. Today, Malik not only captures stunning visuals but sparks important conversations about diversity and inclusion in urban and outdoor spaces.

Martin discussed his unique journey in a series of interviews with 国产吃瓜黑料.

国产吃瓜黑料: Can you share some insights into your youth? How did those early years influence your career path?
Martin: I was adopted by my grandmother when I was two and moved to Salt Lake City, because she felt it would give me a better chance at life compared with Memphis. My elementary years were spent experiencing extreme racism, being one of the only Black kids in my school. The mountains were there, but they were no more than something to look at. I never thought about hiking or climbing them, even though I did camps as a youth. These experiences didn’t directly influence my career, but they gave me a fighting spirit and taught me to never be afraid to speak truth to power.

What led you to become a photojournalist?
I wanted to make a living off my camera. Initially, getting booked for birthdays and baby showers was cool, but I needed something more dynamic. I remember walking into the Tri-State Defender without an appointment, to show the lead editor my portfolio, and saying, “I want to be a photojournalist.” He looked over my work and responded, “I think you already are.”

What do you focus on in your work?
Things I love. When you shoot things you love, you can never make them look bad.

You’ve mentioned living in a tent for a period of time. What led to that situation, and how did the experience shape you?
In May 2016, I chose to live in a tent to escape a bug-infested apartment run by a slumlord. I realized I could cut back on expenses like rent and utilities to focus on my art. For the next six months, I camped and couch surfed, investing in myself rather than paying rent. I had an extra $1,000 a month that I could put into camera equipment instead of bills. This period taught me the importance of betting on myself, especially during times of uncertainty.

What about the experience in Rocky Mountain National Park made you fall in love with nature?
I don’t know, it just felt weird and I kind of liked it. Initially, I thought maybe the thin air was giving me a natural high, but it also made it hard to breathe, yet I couldn’t stop moving forward. I had never felt such euphoria. The mountains spoke to me in a way the city never could. They taught me about silence, depth, and the wildness of spirit.

How did you meet Conrad Anker, and how has that relationship influenced your career and personal growth?
I met Conrad at Memphis Rox during Global Climbing Day, organized by the North Face, in August 2018. He immediately helped me with technical skills like rigging ropes and positioning myself on the wall to capture great shots. Conrad has been like a mountain dad to me, profoundly changing my life and career trajectory. After observing my coverage of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, he invited me on a trip to clear my mind. This trip turned out to be a two-week expedition where I climbed the Granite Peaks in Montana and the Grand Teton in Wyoming with Jimmy Chin.

What projects are you currently working on?
My current project is 国产吃瓜黑料 Ain’t Free. It’s my first completely independent film and focuses on the challenges of accessing the outdoors when you live in a concrete jungle. It questions the notion that the outside is free by highlighting barriers like a lack of gear and knowledge needed to safely navigate the backcountry.

When did you start writing poetry? Is it a hobby or have you considered publishing your work?
I’ve been writing poetry my whole life, walking around in third grade with Edgar Allan Poe’s book of poems. Over the years, it took me a while to find my style and approach. Poetry is more than a hobby; it’s a crucial mode of personal expression. It allows me to convey emotions and experiences that may not always come through in my visual work. I haven’t had anything published. There are just some things I keep private.

We’re all aware of the lack of diversity outdoors, and obviously you stand out. Can you discuss the impact of imposter syndrome on pursuing aspirations, particularly in environments where you might feel out of place?
I’m supposed to be here. In the early stages, I was adjacent to the big names, but now I’m becoming one myself. I used to look at all these great names on posters, admiring their achievements. But now my name is on the poster, too. I’m doing great things, and I’m supposed to be here.

You are. But how do you react when someone doesn’t feel the same?
I have tried to join groups of people that have the same interests as me and haven’t been offered a seat. So why not build my own table? While they’re at their table enjoying themselves, I’ll be over here, gathering nails, hammering the wood, sanding, and building chairs. They’ll look up and see that while they were busy excluding, I created a space for me and whoever else to thrive, share ideas, and eat.

A Poem About the Poet

As someone who has grappled with stuttering, I’ve often sought solace and inspiration in the words of great orators like Maya Angelou. Her mastery of language has guided my own pursuit of expressive power. Martin shares a reverence for Angelou, too. Speaking to him inspired me to write a poem in her style.

Malik the Lens, Malik the Light

In Memphis beats a heart, unquiet
A spirit fierce, refusing to deny it.
Malik, with a camera as his sword
Cuts through silence, his unspoken word.

From humble streets to mountain’s breath
His journey sings, defying death.
With each snap, a new world unfurls
Canvas of dreams, his lens swirls.

Poet first, through streets he roamed
Each photograph, a verse, a tome.
To the stars, his gaze now cast
In every frame, his future, his past.

He built a table, long and wide
Inviting all to come, reside.
By firelight of stars and flash
His community, his mosaic, his bash.

Through city’s pulse and nature’s calm
Malik moves, his soul his balm.
A Martian, they say, in jest, in mirth
For he brings the heavens down to earth.

Photographer, wanderer, seeker, friend
On each journey, he finds his mend.
Through lens and heart, he charts his course
With nature’s power, his endless source.

A Walk in the Park with Malik Tha Martian is .

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